Illuminated liquid gauge



FebI 2U, 1923. I 1,445,34.. G. LI HILLS.

ILLUMINATED LIQUID GAUGE.

FILED IULY 2 1921.

' electric light may be mounted behindthe" eEoEeE LEoE'AEE nant-is, orEEAE'ELLE, ILLLiioLs.

ILLUMINATED LreULE GAUGE.

Application nica .ruiy' a, 1921. seriai'vrijg. Aaaese.

To allfwhomit may concern; V

a Be it known that l, GEORGE LEONARD HILLS, a citizen of the UnitedStates,-re4 siding at Franklin, in the county of Morl gan and State ofllllinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inllluminated Liquid Gauges, ol' which the followingis a specification,reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relatesV to liquid Agauges such as are used on the fueltanks of automobiles and in like situations,'and' the general object ofthe invention is to provide means lwhereby the gauge may be illuminated.v

A lurther'object is to provide a gauge of this character with averticallyl disposed gauge glass, and provide 4mean'swvhereby an gaugeglass so that the light'from the lamp will shine through the glass andshow plainly the level of the liquid in the gauge.

And a further object is to provide a liquid gauge and an elect-ric lightsocket holder as a unit.

Still another object is to provide an attachment whereby an electriclight may be clamped behind the usual gaugev glass of automobile fueltanks, the clamp bemg adapted to embrace the holder of the gauge glass;

@ther objects will appear in the course of the following descri tion.

ll/ly invention is', il ustrated in the accomjpanying drawings, whereinFigure 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of an illuminated gauge glassconstructedin accordance with one embodiment of my inf vention;

Figure 2 is a sectional view on the line 2-2 ol Figure l; Figure 3 is anunder side plan viewof the construction shown in Figure l;

Figure 4 is a top plan view of the construction as illustrated in Figure2;.

lln the drawings, ll have illustrated a prt-l lerred form of myinvention. and in this lor-m it will beseen from the dra'wings'that lhave provided a casting termed to provide a .chamberv 10 open at itsbottom and within which an'electric light may be disposed, and alongitudinally extending cham-l ber 11 having a length approximately thesame as that of the chamber 10, within which the usual gauge glass l2may be inserted.

The wall between the chambers 1() and 11 is longitudinally slotted as at13, and the wall'of the chamber 11 opposite this slotl is flongitudinally slotted, as at lll, to'provide an opening through whichthe gauge glass may be seen.

- rlhe upper end of the chamber. 11 is in- "triorly screw-threaded forengagement with a cap 15 which'is' provided with a small vent openlng16. The lower end of the chamthere being a seat 1B vbetween the interiorof this downward extension and the chamber' `l1 upon which-the gaugeglass may be disposed, this gauge glass being insertible through the topof the chamber 1l. 'llhe .1r-lll extension 17 has a chamber 19 andextend ing laterally from the chamber 17 is an angular portion 20 formedwith -a duct 21- communicating with the interior of the chamber lll,"The portion20 has a nipple 22 vwhereby connection may be made from thesupply tank of the automobile to the gauge glass. rllhe lower end of thevportion 17 is formed to permit a et cock 23 to be connected to theportion 1 y Adapted to be disposed within the chamber 10=is an electriclamp socket 24: adapted to hold a small electric lamp 25. 'llhe rearwall of the chamber 10 is formed with a'downward extension 26 havingupon its outer vtace a shoulder 27, anda clamp 28 is adapted to surroundthe lower end of the Y.socket '2l and the lug 26 and rest upon thisshoulder 27.l 'lhis clamp may be of any. suiltable character and islillustrated as a au sp it ring aving para e f ro'ectin ylu 29 throughwhicha" bolt 30 lipassles.' g l As before remarked, the parts 10 and 11will preferably be cast or otherwise formed from one piece oi. metal andthe portion 2() will be preferably formed in one piece with the member19. l do not wish to vbe limited, however, to this. 'llt is obviousthat, the cap 15 v will close the upper end of the gauge glass 12 andhold the lower endv of the gauge glass firmly to its seat, which, ofcourse, may be provided with suitable gaskets so that any liquid in atank connected to the nipple' 22 will rise in the gauge glass to aheightl equal to the level ol the liquid in thev tank. The electric lamp,25 will be connected in circuit with aswitch so that it may be turneded or on and thus the level 4ot the liquid in the gauge glass may be:difficult to note the level of the liquid in the gauge glass with anydegree of accuracy because the gauge glass is usually disposed in aposition 'which renders its easy reading -a very dificult matter.

It will be seen that my device may be readily and cheaply made and maybe readily put in place in the car, and that it is ef` fective for thepurpose intended.

While myl 'invention is particularly de signed for the'gauge l-asses ofautomobile fuel tanks and that II scribed a form of gauge which isadapted for this purpose, I do not wish to be limited to the applicationof my invention to gauge glasses of this character, as it is obviousthat it may be applied to any gauge glass.

I claim 1. As an article of manufacture, an illumi- -natedgaugqcomprising a tubular body open at its opposite ends and havinglongitudinally extending slots and formed on its in terior to provide agauge glass seat and at the opposite end having a screw-threaded openinglarger in dia-meter than the gauge glass, the body below the seat havinga lateral tubular extremity and below the seat being screw-threaded toreceive a petcoc-k, the body being formed with an integral lamp laveparticularly de-f housing open at one end, with the interior of whichone of the longitudinal slots communi- Cates, a gauge glass disposed onthe gauge glass seat, a cap: detachably engaging and closing the openend of the tubular body and holding the gauge glass in place, and meansassociated with the lamp housing for holding an electric lamp therein.

2. As an article of manufacture, an illuminated gauge comprising atubular body open at its opposite ends and having longitudinallyextending slots and formed on its interior to'provide a gauge glass seatand at the opposite end having a screw-threaded opening larger indiameter than the gauge glass, the body below the seat having a lateraltubular extremity and below the seat being screw-threaded to receive a.petcock, the body being formed with an integral lamp housing open at itslower end, with the interior of which one of the longitudinal slotscommunicates, a gauge glass disposed on the gauge glass seat, ac-apclosing the open end of the vtubular body and holding the gaugeglass in place, and means associated with the lampl housin and connectedto the exterior of the boy for holding an electric lamp within thehousing.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature.

GEORGE LEONARD HILLS.

